The labour ward at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) is reportedly handling more than twice its normal capacity, while the operating theatres are running beyond capacity. The blood bank at the hospital is also strained to keep up.

 

In a statement, KNH Chief Executive Officer Dr. Richard Lesiyampe said the hospital has become the primary point of care for patients requiring urgent treatment, as many public health facilities in Nairobi and Kiambu counties are unable to operate fully due to ongoing protests by health workers.

 

“This has led to a sharp rise in the number of very sick patients arriving at the hospital, many in critical condition,” Dr. Lesiyampe stated. “Sadly, some of the mothers and babies are arriving too late, and a few have had poor health outcomes despite the best efforts of our dedicated medical teams. Our staff are working tirelessly around the clock, but resources are stretched to the limit.”

 

Dr. Lesiyampe urged all parties to settle their differences swiftly. “Restoring normal operations in Kiambu and Nairobi county hospitals will ease the pressure on KNH and ensure that patients receive care closer to their homes and on time.”

 

Kiambu County doctors have been on strike for over four months. On May 27, they walked out, citing labour rights violations such as chronic salary delays, lapses in medical coverage, stagnation in career progression, excessive working hours, irregular procedural transfers, and the illegal halting of union dues remittance.

 

Doctors report receiving their pay on or after the 17th of the following month. In August 2024, salary payments were delayed by over 30 days. The county has also been late in remitting premiums to the Social Health Authority (SHA). Since the Social Health Insurance Act requires remittance by the 9th of each month, this leaves doctors without access to health services despite having insurance – a violation of the Employment Act.

 

Hundreds of eligible doctors have also experienced delays in promotions. Doctors are being transferred without following the proper procedures outlined in the County HR Manual and Public Service Commission guidelines. When transfers are more than 40 kilometres, affected doctors do not receive the legally required transfer and baggage allowances.

 

Stephen Muthama, Chairman of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers-Nairobi Chapter, said: “The cumulative effect of these issues has been high staff turnover, attrition and burnout, low morale and productivity among the remaining workforce, interruptions in critical health services across county facilities, and heightened risks of strikes and industrial actions that jeopardise access to care for Nairobi residents.”

 

The burnout has reportedly caused a rise in addiction cases and psychological stress.

 

The Daily Nation recently revealed health issues in Kiambu County, including 67 newborn deaths between May and September 2025, as confirmed by the county’s Chief Officer of Health Services, Dr. Patrick Nyaga.

 

However, amidst all this, Dr. Nyaga denied claims of a health crisis in Kiambu County, stating that the county has hired additional doctors and that approximately 90 striking doctors have returned to work. He mentioned that the county had been steadily increasing its medical staff even before the strike. “The process of hiring in the public sector is protracted and requires advertisements. These doctors had been jobless for several years as the national government wasn’t employing them,” he said. 

 

He added that the recently hired doctors were in the final stages of onboarding when the strike was called. “Many of these specialists were not recruited from outside but were trained by the county, which regularly sponsors between 40 and 60 doctors to become specialists. Thirty-nine are currently in medical school.”

 

Regarding salary delays, Dr. Nyaga stated that striking doctors have not received their salaries for June, July, August, and September because the county is not obliged to pay for services not provided during a protected strike. “I am not obligated to pay those on strike. The law stops me from paying anyone who is not working,” he said. “The right to strike is protected by law, but that same law also safeguards the rights of the employer. It states the employer is not required to pay for services not rendered during a protected strike.”

 

The County Executive for Health, Dr. Elias Maina, also dismissed the KNH statement, saying that Kiambu County hospitals are operational and have been receiving referrals from other counties, with no unusual referrals to Kenyatta National Hospital.  “If you look at the letter, it’s easy to see its origin-it’s unsolicited advice to other counties to engage with  KMPDU while claiming there is a surge of patients from Kiambu. Our hospitals have not been making unusual referrals to KNH. However, there are private and faith-based hospitals in Kiambu that could be referring patients to KNH. But we have also been receiving referrals from those same hospitals because we have referral hospitals.”

 

Dr. Maina highlighted that the language and tone used in the letter seek to reinforce the narrative that the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has been depicting hospital operations as non-functional. 

 

“There is no health crisis in Kiambu. All our hospitals are working with fully qualified, registered and licensed doctors. The nurses are working, the clinical officers are working. Only a few disgruntled union members have stayed away from work, and immediately they did, we replaced them. We averted a crisis that is not there and exists only in the minds of the union,” he said. 

 

In Nairobi County, healthcare professionals, including nurses, clinical officers, midwives, medical laboratory officers, pharmaceutical technologists, nutritionists, dieticians, and environmental health and public health practitioners, have been on a go-slow for about a month.

 

Reportedly, Nairobi County has also failed to pay gratuity to staff who worked for the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS), and has been unable to replace employees who have resigned, died, or retired.

 

Furthermore, in addition to delayed salaries, withheld arrears, the non-implementation of existing resolutions, and unfair promotions, Nairobi health workers also mention the non-implementation of 2024 incremental salary adjustments as directed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

 

The healthcare workers’ strike in Kiambu County appears unlikely to end soon. KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah announced protests for Kiambu doctors on Monday, 13 October 2025, aimed at demanding accountability, respect for healthcare workers, and urgent measures to restore functional, dignified healthcare systems in Kiambu and across the country.

 

“KMPDU remains unwavering in its commitment to defending the rights of healthcare workers and upholding the highest standards of service to the nation,” said Dr. Atellah.

(Source: Daily Nation)